April 16, 2023 - Early Waterfowl

Here in Minnesota, winter is finally losing its grip on us. This week I went to Vadnais Lake near our apartment in the Twin Cities. This lake is part of a chain of lakes that supplies drinking water to the city of St. Paul.

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There had been several days of very warm weather, so most of the snow was melted. You can still find piles of it. That’s where the snowplows deposited it as they cleared the streets and parking lots this winter.

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The lake was only partially open. As the ice gets close to melting, it gets dark and grainy.

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A medium-sized, mixed flock of ducks was already in the open water.

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The ice kept the ducks relatively close to shore, so I was able to take some photos. This is a pair of Ring-necked Ducks.

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At this time of the year, most ducks have already chosen their mates. This is a pair of Common Goldeneyes.

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This female Red-breasted Merganser was standing on the ice. Here’s a good, close look at the soon-to-be-melted ice.

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These male Red-breasted Mergansers are showing their wild, spikey head feathers.

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I even saw two Common Loons on the lake. It was nice to hear the wailing call of the Loon for the first time this year. It won’t be long before we have them on our lake up north.

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